LOS ANGELES — The State Bar Court of California recently disbarred Anthony R. Sales, a Stockton attorney after it determined that the attorney had failed to perform services he had solicited from clients he had no prior relationship with.
According to the March 12 decision, several charges were brought against Sales, all of which stem from a single client matter. The attorney directly solicited, or had someone solicit on his behalf, his services to a client with whom he had no familial or prior professional relationship. Solicitation of services is a violation of the California Rules of Professional Conduct.
Once Sales had secured the client’s business in a loan modification matter, he allegedly failed to preform any legal services. The attorney was also charged with entering into a fee agreement with a client without providing the client with information. The client paid Sales $1,500 for his services, none of which were returned to the client after the dissolution. The collection of fees also was a violation of the California Rules of Professional Conduct because obtaining advanced fees in loan modification matters is not allowed in the state. The attorney also was charged with failing to cooperate with the California State Bar’s investigation as he did not respond to a notice of disciplinary charges (NDC) the state bar sent to him.
A default response was entered on the attorney’s behalf following his failure to respond to the initial NDC or any attempt at contact made thereafter.
Sales, a graduate of the John F. Kennedy University School of Law, was admitted to the California State Bar in 2001. The 45-year-old attorney had no prior record of discipline.